This week on Yes But Why, I talk to improviser and producer, Wendy Salome.

Wendy Salome serves Austin’s creative community through the Coldtowne Theater. She was the Chief of Staff for ColdTowne Theater from 2018-2020. She improvised with the ColdTowne House Troupe, “Porch Cat” as well as the all-mom troupe, “My Secret Friend.” Wendy produced the B. Iden Payne-nominated show Junior Year Abroad and co-produced My Own Worst Enemy. After a long stretch of pandemic-induced hibernation from creative projects, she emerged in May 2022 to co-produce and play in The Emma Dilemma.

When she's not dabbling in the improv world, Wendy works as an Election Clerk for Travis County Elections and serves as the president of the board for Griffin School.

In our conversation, Wendy and I talked about how hard it can be to ALLOW yourself to be creative. There is such a strong pull to “have a solid foundation” and “take care of your family” that many of us with creative aspirations have held ourselves back. Still, the pull to be creative is strong. We keep going back to creative projects even though we’re working elsewhere. But it’s so hard! Why can’t we just enjoy ourselves? Why can’t we allow ourselves to have this joy?

Wendy got introduced to improv when she put her kids into classes with Kristen Henn. Watching her children have so much fun, she got the improv bug.

Wendy also found a love of stage management and producing. She thrives on helping others build a show. Wendy talked about being inspired by Nathan Sowell. When he asked her to be involved with The Emma Dilemma, he helped reignite her passion for the arts after the pandemic.

We had a great deep dive on how the pandemic affected our creative output. It deflated us. We were sad. We were burnt out. Wendy and I discussed how we clawed our way out of that hole and came back to being the artists that we naturally are.

To support Wendy Salome, go to your local elections office and verify that you are registered to vote, then show up and make your voice heard in the 2022 midterms on November 8th (or whenever the next election is in your country!) https://www.rockthevote.org/


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(production notes: recorded zoom meeting via Rodecaster on 9/7/2022; posted on 9/12/2022)